Chunking is the process in STM where we group information together to make it easier to remember. It is one of the two characteristics that can differentiate STM from LTM and WM, the other being decay. As STM can only store 7 items, it will be inconvenient in everyday tasks. As such, we have this chunking ability that enables us to remember a lot of information and compact it into 1 item for easy storage. We can also use group the numbers of a phone number to make it easier to remember than the individual numbers. For example, the mobile number 0453187472, most people will break it up to 0453 187 472 as that is easier to remember than say 0 4 5 3 1 8 7 4 7 2 as separate numbers. This also explains why some people use the term grouping instead of chunking.
Chunking
Chunking is the process in STM where we group information together to make it easier to remember. It is one of the two characteristics that can differentiate STM from LTM and WM, the other being decay. As STM can only store 7 items, it will be inconvenient in everyday tasks. As such, we have this chunking ability that enables us to remember a lot of information and compact it into 1 item for easy storage. We can also use group the numbers of a phone number to make it easier to remember than the individual numbers. For example, the mobile number 0453187472, most people will break it up to 0453 187 472 as that is easier to remember than say 0 4 5 3 1 8 7 4 7 2 as separate numbers. This also explains why some people use the term grouping instead of chunking.